This might be the quickest turnaround for a pattern I’ve made in ages, but last weekend I put together the weird, conceptual “tube” tee from the April 2014 Burda magazine (I’m so current!!) and some splatter-print viscose lycra jersey I bought at Hancocks when I was visiting my folks in Virginia in November. Or it’s up on the US Burdastyle already should you wish to buy the pdf.
The pattern itself is rather avant-garde – it’s really just one big rectangle! On the right-hand side (as worn) there’s a side seam and a pretty normal, set-in sleeve. But on the left it’s just a fold instead of a side seam and a horizontal slit is cut in, where a sleeve with the sleeve cap chopped off (no, really!) is set into that. The neckline is just the top of the rectangle and is only an inch or two narrower than the hem!
I wasn’t so sure that the weird left sleeve would actually be comfortable, but it really is! I don’t even notice it when I’m wearing it, and it doesn’t really look strange when worn, either.
The body feels super voluminous and quite long to me – I’m tempted to narrow it and the cowl neck as well. I made a Burda size 40 which should be true to my new measurements, but everything is super wide – I’d definitely consider going down a size in the rectangle, but keeping the sleeves at your true size.
The cowl also stays in place fairly well – it doesn’t fall off my left shoulder at all like the magazine photo might suggest, and you can actually drape it up over your head like a hood or fashionable head scarf!
The instructions for this were just stupid, though – they have you set in the normal, right sleeve instead of sewing it in flat, and then have you sew French seams on the shoulder and cowl neck seam, which is just totally pointless! I just overlocked it, and you can’t see it for all the fabric folds anyway.
All in all, it’s a great top (tunic?) to wear with leggings that feels super comfortable but is a bit more edgy than your average teeshirt. Considering that it’s only two pattern pieces and three seams, it’s also super quick to sew, too!
(Why “Bunka”? Bunka is the Japanese fashion school that all the conceptual, avant garde designers studied at – think Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake, and all the Pattern Magic and Drape Drape books. This really reminds me of their approach to pattern making!)